SPENCER – Morgan Gorst is a very active kid. The Spencer Middle School seventh-grader plays football, basketball and baseball.

He has dreams of attending the University of Oregon to follow in the footsteps of his favorite football player, former Oregon and current Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. His mom says she wants him to stay in the Badger State, though.

But during football practice near the end of August, he wasn’t feeling well. He felt good enough to go to practice, but had been ill the entire week, said his mom, Becky. His parents thought, based on his symptoms, that he may have Lyme disease.

On Aug. 31, Morgan's dad, Jim, took him to Marshfield Medical Center. Doctors immediately noticed some facial drooping when Morgan smiled. Coupled with the headaches and nausea he had been suffering from, an MRI was ordered.

Morgan and his family soon got the kind of news no one wants to hear. The MRI had found a mass on 12-year-old Morgan’s brain. After a biopsy was performed, Morgan was diagnosed with glioblastoma, grade 4 brain cancer.

Looking back, Becky said she had noticed a "goofy smile" Morgan developed two years ago. She had even asked him about it, and Morgan said, “That’s how I smile.”

"We can go back and when you look close you can see a hint of it," Becky told a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporter. "You start to wonder how long he was walking around with something. Maybe it mutated. It’s tough to think about."

Morgan Gorst with his sister Ari and brother Will Gorst.(Photo: Becky Gorst Facebook)

When the mass was found, Morgan was immediately admitted into intensive care. He spent that Friday night in ICU, but was sent home Sunday. He had friends over and everything seemed OK.

But on Sept. 3, he was not feeling well and his family took him back to the emergency room. Morgan had unplanned emergency shunt placement to relieve pressure from fluid buildup on his brain. And on Sept. 4, they placed another shunt and performed a biopsy.

Morgan faces at least nine months of chemotherapy, which he started on Sept. 27. Chemotherapy will be continuous, with a rotation of six weeks of radiation and then a four-week break.

Doctors have said the chemo and radiation are not getting rid of the cancer, but are stopping its growth, Becky said. The family isn't sitting idle. They have bought a hyperbaric chamber and a spa, which they hope can help Morgan. Conventional medicine doesn't recognize those as healers of cancer, but the Gorsts are attempting anything they can.

Becky’s friends say they are in awe of Morgan and his family’s strength.

“Becky isn't the type to stand pat. She is going to do whatever she can to help," said Jena Bennett, a friend of Becky's who is organizing fundraisers for the family. "She is as strong of a woman as I know, and her and Jim will do whatever they can to help Morgan.”

The Spencer community and surrounding communities have held several fundraisers for the Gorst family, and two more are planned in the next month. Becky said the response from the community and the fundraisers to help the family have been touching.

Morgan hasn’t been sick during treatment, and he has been going to school. Radiation makes him tired, but the school has been able to accommodate him.

“We joke that there are a bunch of moms at school,” Becky said.

His parents, despite long odds, are optimistic.

"He's doing amazing. It's remarkable really,” Becky said. “Kids are just the best patients. They don't feel sorry for themselves. … It's a lot of chemo, but we are optimistic. Blood counts are normal and we're doing as much as we can."

How you can help

Two benefits are planned to raise money for the Gorst family.

• We Can Fight Cancer Benefit will be held Nov. 17 at Chestnut Center for the Arts, 208 S. Chestnut Ave., Marshfield. Doors open at 5 p.m. Music starts at 5:30 p.m. and continues until 10 p.m. Performers include the Pointless Brothers featuring Andi Petersen, Midwest Soul Exchange, Bourbon House, Woodie Larsen and Kipp Wilde. A dinner buffet catered by Mojo's Pasta House & Cajun Cook Shack will be served to VIP ticketholders. The event also will include silent auction, food and beverages. For ticket information, search "We Can Fight Cancer Benefit Concert" on Facebook. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Teen Cancer America, American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge and the Morgan Gorst Family.